[pct-l] Hike the Hill

[wayneskraft at comcast.net (Wayne Kraft)]

I'll look forward to more information on this topic of budget cuts.   
I'd like to see some actual figures.  What were the NFS and NPS  
budgets in FY2005 and by how much will they be reduced in FY2006?   
You know, in actual dollars and cents.  And maybe a little background  
on how the funds get allocated among the various competing programs.   
The reason I ask is that the website of the National Parks  
Conservation Association (http://www.npca.org/across_the_nation/ 
visitor_experience/endangeredrangers/introduction.asp), an  
organization that complains that the NPS is chronically underfunded,  
nonetheless points out that the NPS budget has increased almost 3%  
over and above the rate of inflation each year since 1998 and the  
description of the President's FY 2006 budget called for "a $144  
million increase to continue upgrading National Park Service  
facilities."   And further, "Operational funding for parks, refuges,  
and public lands will be 20 percent higher than in 2001."  (http:// 
www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2006/interior.html) Has Congress  
passed a smaller NPS budget than the one the President proposed?  The  
Interior Department website says the FY2006 budget will "Fulfill the  
President's commitment to provide $4.9 billion over 5 years to  
address a maintenance backlog in National Parks."  http://www.doi.gov/ 
news/05_News_Releases/050207a.

Regarding the National Forest Service, I'm not sure the federal  
budget has anything to do with NFS spending on trails. I may be  
completely wrong about this.  If I am, I hope someone will educate  
me.  I was under the impression that NFS funds trail construction  
from the Roads and Trails Fund.  This fund was established in 1913.   
Ten percent of all NFS revenues go into this fund and the NFS uses  
this money, not funds from the federal budget, to build and maintain  
roads and trails.  If I am correct about this, NFS decides how to  
spend this fund without any congressional oversight, so lobbying  
congresspersons and senators won't do you a bit of good.  There are  
only two ways to increase NFS spending on trails.  One is for the  
forest service to sell more timber and I can't imagine that approach  
will gain much traction with this group.  The other is to spend more  
of the fund on trails and less on roads.  Nobody likes to build roads  
as much as NFS and I suspect that trying to affect the way the NFS  
spends this fund would be far more effective than lobbying Senator  
Windbag, who will not have the slightest notion how trails are  
funded, will enthusiastically agree with everything you say and then  
do nothing about it. Like I say, I could be wrong.

The FY2006 federal budget is under great pressure to fund the war on  
terrorism, increased homeland security measures and hurricane relief  
to name just a few high priority items.  Trails are important to us,  
but a lot of people need convincing.  If we complain about budget  
"cuts" when the budgets haven't actually been cut, we are likely to  
loose our audience entirely.  To paraphrase Sen. Moynihan, we are  
entitled to our own opinions, but we are not entitled to our own  
facts.  What are the actual facts?

It is not the topics of the posts on this list that I sometimes find  
depressing and discouraging.  It is the tone.  I argue for a living  
and I really don't like having to hear a bunch of arguing in my  
leisure time, but that's a personal issue.  People have opinions and  
they are going to express them whether I want to hear them or not,  
but it would sure be nice if the opinions expressed were a little  
more thoughtful and fact-based.

Wayne Kraft

On Dec 23, 2005, at 6:08 PM, Lonetrail@aol.com wrote:

>
> Hello Out  there
> I think some of you  are missing something. Do you know that  
> concessionaires
> in our Parks did not get  a budget cut from our government this  
> year? They got
> an increase. Guess what we  got? We got a cut. Why!  It?s called   
> lobbing.
> Now you don?t want to hear that it would interfere with your  
> posting.  The NP
> and NF also received cuts. Yes that right. You know our tails go  
> thru  these
> parks. I received this email today perhaps some of you may have  
> received  the
> Hike to the Hill also. I try to attend as many of these meeting as  
> I can I  may
> spent between $2,000.00 and $3,000.00 a year attending these  
> meeting. Now if
> it bugs the shit out of some of you who don?t want to hear the  
> politicks of who
>  get the money. You can bug right out. The rest keep reading the  
> following. I
>  must warm you I will post some of what I bring back. Please try to  
> attend.
> For more info email me of post.
> HIKE TO THE  HILL.
> Learn how to lobby for  your favorite trails and "Hike the Hill"  
> during
> American Hiking Society's  Advocacy Week held every winter ? a  
> pivotal time in the
> federal budget cycle.  Congress needs to hear from you  about the  
> issues that
> affect your trails and trails nationwide. Advocacy Week  2006 will  
> take place
> February 13 - 16 in Washington, DC. Advocacy Week includes   
> sessions on policy
> issues, training in lobbying and advocacy skills, and an  event on  
> Capitol
> Hill. The presentations/training will take place on Monday Feb  13,  
> with most of
> the week devoted to your meetings with your Senators,   
> Representatives and
> key congressional and federal agency staff.
>
>
>
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